Although many workers worry that technologies like robots and artificial intelligence (AI) will have a detrimental effect on their ability to earn livings, there are some instances where such high-tech help will make things better for employees. Here are six of them.
1. Robots Can Give Trustworthy Advice to Employees
Many people view their bosses as sources of advice they can trust. However, many people also show that same trustworthiness toward robots. A recent study from Oracle and Future Workplace polled more than 8,300 workers and human resources representatives in 10 countries. It found that 64% of people trust robots more than their superiors, and half have already asked robots for advice.
Plus, 65% of respondents said they were optimistic, excited and grateful about sharing their workplaces with robots. The coverage of the study did not detail how the participants got advice from robots. But, when people feel supported at work, they often perform better. If individuals continue to embrace robots and feel they can depend on them to help, people might get the information they need sooner than before.
2. AI Can Help People Who Often Get Overlooked Find
Work
AI is increasingly factoring into the hiring process. IBM believes its use of AI could improve opportunities for people to get trained and work in high-paying positions. It will roll out a platform in 2020 that looks for people who have the potential to excel in tech roles but are currently working in lower-skilled roles by doing things like preparing fast food or driving trucks.
The AI tool can reportedly locate people who could be trained for tech work in as few as 20 weeks. If more companies start using AI this way, it may mean that traditional employment barriers like the lack of a college degree could become less problematic for people who have talent that could help them earn more and adapt.
3. Robots Can Assist Workers With Tedious Tasks
When workers do repetitive tasks, jobs can take a toll on their bodies. Robots, and particularly the cobots that work alongside humans, could reduce such physical strain. One worker who has a cobot colleague handles parts inspections at an automotive plant. A camera attached to the cobot makes precise checks easier to handle.
The employee says he no longer deals with arthritis issues in his hands and feet that were problematic when he did more manual work. This is an example of how robots can benefit the workforce by relieving them of tasks that may have previously wreaked bodily havoc. For this positive impact to continue, though, companies must keep exploring how to keep human workers relevant and fulfilled even as robots take some of the work.
4. AI Can Improve Employee Scheduling
It can be challenging for human resources managers to keep track of scheduling requirements. That’s because there are company-specific needs, such as keeping a store adequately staffed during the busiest periods, as well as things that employees need to stay satisfied at work. Software with artificial intelligence can optimize scheduling for productivity while also reducing team member frustrations.
For example, AI can avoid situations where several inexperienced team members work on a particular shift without a long-time employee to give guidance. It can also collect data about which employees work well together and schedule them to work at the same times without receiving continual input from a human. Then, people can get more enjoyment from their shifts and find it’s easier for them to meet expectations.
5. Robots Can Help Keep People Safer
The world is full of dangerous jobs, and the people who accept them are well-aware of the associated risks. However, robots could make the work less life-threatening. For example, some companies depend on robots for bridge inspections, a job that’s typically high-risk. Robots can also go into burning buildings and survey the situation before firefighters do.
Other machines are remotely operated, letting people stay a safe distance away from harm. Cargill has a cow-herding robot that people use while standing on catwalks above the cattle pens. People still need to close gates as the cows move, but the remote operation makes workers less likely to get into catastrophic circumstances.
6. AI Can Aid With Idea Generation
Many employees have had the disappointing experience of coming up with a fantastic idea and hearing that someone else already mentioned a similar proposal. Artificial intelligence could make that scenario happen less frequently. The Volkswagen Group is among the brands investigating how AI could assist with office and knowledge-related work.
One of its initiatives involves improving the generation of ideas. A specialized interface shows a worker all previously submitted content. It also allows them to filter by topic, such as seeing all submissions that are at least a few years old and relate to oils.
This system can reportedly search through 1.36 million ideas in a matter of seconds. The resource enables workers to spend time working on ideas that are genuinely new or perhaps taking ownership of possibilities that have not seen fruitful progress in several years thereby paving the way for gratifying results.
AI and Robots Will Have Positive Impacts
This
list shows that it’s not all doom and gloom concerning the influence that
robots and AI will have on the workforce. These technologies are like almost
anything else in that they bring both positive and negative effects.